My computer skills are limited to the text box used for blogging.
I began a Facebook page for the purpose of publicizing the release of A Lost Shepherd.
Please do me a favor and click on the Facebook box at the left and help spread the word!
(apologies to the two people who 'liked' the Facebook account from yesterday..that info has been lost)
God Bless
Friday, July 27, 2012
Here We Go--What's on Your Reading List?
Let's get back into some blogging shall we?
How's this for a start?
I came across the above book in the midst of re-organizing a parish library.
I made a copy of the book's cover--as soon as the copy was produced the machine quit working! (seriously, the repairman was in today)
At one point, as the pastor and I weeded through the piles of books, I remarked how everything has been said at one time or another. We reinvent the wheel about every 20 years--theologically and spiritually. Pick up the writings of St. Augustine, or St. Theresa of Avila, or St. Alphonse Liguori--and you will have a 'way' to holiness. You don't need some pop psychology/theology approach.
But we complicate the obvious.
Treat yourself--pick up a spiritual classic.
My lovely wife recently completed The Poem of the Man God by Maria Valtorta.
On her recommendation I began with volume one a couple weeks back. All I can say is I wished I had read this back in seminary. I am well aware of the controversy surrounding The Poem and I suggest the reader take a look at the above link concerning the Church's stance. As recent events in the life of the church have shown--the greatest threat to the church is certainly not The Poem of the Man God.
How's this for a start?
I came across the above book in the midst of re-organizing a parish library.
I made a copy of the book's cover--as soon as the copy was produced the machine quit working! (seriously, the repairman was in today)
At one point, as the pastor and I weeded through the piles of books, I remarked how everything has been said at one time or another. We reinvent the wheel about every 20 years--theologically and spiritually. Pick up the writings of St. Augustine, or St. Theresa of Avila, or St. Alphonse Liguori--and you will have a 'way' to holiness. You don't need some pop psychology/theology approach.
But we complicate the obvious.
Treat yourself--pick up a spiritual classic.
My lovely wife recently completed The Poem of the Man God by Maria Valtorta.
On her recommendation I began with volume one a couple weeks back. All I can say is I wished I had read this back in seminary. I am well aware of the controversy surrounding The Poem and I suggest the reader take a look at the above link concerning the Church's stance. As recent events in the life of the church have shown--the greatest threat to the church is certainly not The Poem of the Man God.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
We ignore evil
I write this entry while my son works on some school projects in an adjacent room.
I can't help but think of the parent whose child may have attended a movie last night in Colorado.
It happens all the time,
The child/teenager leaves the house:
kid: "I'm leaving for the movie, see ya."
parent: "Whose going?"
kid mentions names
parent: "What movie?"
kid: "The Dark Knight Rises"
parent: "Okay, do you have your phone?"
kid: "Yes."
parent: "Have fun, love you."
kid: "Love you too."
At the theatre a gunman opens fire--
Evil, demonic, satanic--you name it--it is real and unleashed and has been killing lives and souls since that scene in the Garden.
At one point God became man, broke the chains of bondage and set us free.
BUT WE DIDN'T GET IT.
IT WAS TOO HARD.
So, like a moth drawn to a flame that promises warmth and freedom and another 'way' ---all lies--eventually the soul gets fried--eventually humanity gets fried.
What is our response when evil happens?
Shock?
Dismay?
Or maybe we just ignore it?
USUALLY THE SOCIAL SCIENTISTS GET IN AND EXPLAIN IT AWAY.
Just for the next 24 hours take note of the amount of evil that bombards your life via internet and media.
--the mentality and the jokes that it is all about you.
--that pride is good and that you need it to survive.
--that you can use others, talk about others, lie about others.
--music and shows and movies that play with the 'lite' themes of sexuality and promiscuity.
--everything is relative.
--envy and sloth and gluttony and lust are all explained and even excused.
Evil thrives on apathy and then eventually it goes for blood.
Like chumming the water--live life in the world of moral relativism--then eventually satan comes for the soul.
Just as Grace builds on nature so can Evil build on our choices that contradict God's will.
And others are left to suffer. Other innocent lives are lost. Families are torn apart.
This is a suffering that only God can redeem.
Usually, when evil happens we blame something else or we ignore it.
It would be easy to blame the movie--
But the movie is a sign of something much more insidious and the demonic is banking on the fact that 'freedom of speech will continue to provide the way for it to spread is culture of death'
Evil is also blatantly ignored as has been proven in recent events both in the church and in academia. Reputations become gods.
Only God can redeem this suffering.
(that's the second time I've written that)
But God's way is hard. It takes work. It means saying 'No' to the ways of the world that are not redemptive. God's way involves a passion and a cross. God's way is the way the saints took.
God's way is a way which doesn't ignore evil. Jesus didn't ignore it, nor should we.
Just the other day I had a conversation with a priest concerning evil. He really didn't want to talk about it.
"I prefer to focus on our redemption."
Nice. I agree. Redemption is good.
But--
Redemption from what??? eternal death, sin--and they are the products of what?
It's both. We can't ignore the elephant in the room. Evil must be named and called out and expelled AND redemption in and through Christ.
Come on people stop ignoring and excusing the obvious.
When evil happens today use it as a moment to turn away go to God and STAY with Jesus.
Start today, get on your knees, say an Our Father and a Hail Mary, Pray to St. Michael (click the picture).
Pray for the victims, pray for the parents, pray pray pray.
I can't help but think of the parent whose child may have attended a movie last night in Colorado.
It happens all the time,
The child/teenager leaves the house:
kid: "I'm leaving for the movie, see ya."
parent: "Whose going?"
kid mentions names
parent: "What movie?"
kid: "The Dark Knight Rises"
parent: "Okay, do you have your phone?"
kid: "Yes."
parent: "Have fun, love you."
kid: "Love you too."
At the theatre a gunman opens fire--
Evil, demonic, satanic--you name it--it is real and unleashed and has been killing lives and souls since that scene in the Garden.
At one point God became man, broke the chains of bondage and set us free.
BUT WE DIDN'T GET IT.
IT WAS TOO HARD.
So, like a moth drawn to a flame that promises warmth and freedom and another 'way' ---all lies--eventually the soul gets fried--eventually humanity gets fried.
What is our response when evil happens?
Shock?
Dismay?
Or maybe we just ignore it?
USUALLY THE SOCIAL SCIENTISTS GET IN AND EXPLAIN IT AWAY.
Just for the next 24 hours take note of the amount of evil that bombards your life via internet and media.
--the mentality and the jokes that it is all about you.
--that pride is good and that you need it to survive.
--that you can use others, talk about others, lie about others.
--music and shows and movies that play with the 'lite' themes of sexuality and promiscuity.
--everything is relative.
--envy and sloth and gluttony and lust are all explained and even excused.
Evil thrives on apathy and then eventually it goes for blood.
Like chumming the water--live life in the world of moral relativism--then eventually satan comes for the soul.
Just as Grace builds on nature so can Evil build on our choices that contradict God's will.
And others are left to suffer. Other innocent lives are lost. Families are torn apart.
This is a suffering that only God can redeem.
Usually, when evil happens we blame something else or we ignore it.
It would be easy to blame the movie--
But the movie is a sign of something much more insidious and the demonic is banking on the fact that 'freedom of speech will continue to provide the way for it to spread is culture of death'
Evil is also blatantly ignored as has been proven in recent events both in the church and in academia. Reputations become gods.
Only God can redeem this suffering.
(that's the second time I've written that)
But God's way is hard. It takes work. It means saying 'No' to the ways of the world that are not redemptive. God's way involves a passion and a cross. God's way is the way the saints took.
God's way is a way which doesn't ignore evil. Jesus didn't ignore it, nor should we.
Just the other day I had a conversation with a priest concerning evil. He really didn't want to talk about it.
"I prefer to focus on our redemption."
Nice. I agree. Redemption is good.
But--
Redemption from what??? eternal death, sin--and they are the products of what?
It's both. We can't ignore the elephant in the room. Evil must be named and called out and expelled AND redemption in and through Christ.
Come on people stop ignoring and excusing the obvious.
When evil happens today use it as a moment to turn away go to God and STAY with Jesus.
Start today, get on your knees, say an Our Father and a Hail Mary, Pray to St. Michael (click the picture).
Pray for the victims, pray for the parents, pray pray pray.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
New Review
A recent review of A Lost Shepherd--from amazon.com
"... a special talent for not only telling stories, but also connecting with his audience. This book is a roller coaster of suspense, failure, and triumph. Not only is it a joy to read, but it is also a source of inspiration. "Rips" has the courageousness to share his mistakes with the world, reminding each and everyone of us that we are not perfect, and that faith is a life-long battle. He has undoubtedly been called in one way or another to lead others to Christ, and is a prime example that anything is possible when you "put it on the altar" and allow the Holy Spirit into your heart."
"... a special talent for not only telling stories, but also connecting with his audience. This book is a roller coaster of suspense, failure, and triumph. Not only is it a joy to read, but it is also a source of inspiration. "Rips" has the courageousness to share his mistakes with the world, reminding each and everyone of us that we are not perfect, and that faith is a life-long battle. He has undoubtedly been called in one way or another to lead others to Christ, and is a prime example that anything is possible when you "put it on the altar" and allow the Holy Spirit into your heart."
Monday, July 2, 2012
Signs?
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Obamacare
...No power in DC and a 'heat wave'
...Fires out west
...Tthis morning I heard an advertisement on the radio for a new show entitled; The New Normal Hollywood now openly admits that it defines what is normal and it conveys it as Truth.
"When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes. Then He had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles: 'Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything: they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand. Who know, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish."
-from the Book of Jonah 3: 6-9
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